​Leader: Ptolomey McKinnon
Report: David Laurie.
Bird List: Seamus O'Dowd

Fifteen of us met at the Holkham village car park at 9:00 on a clear, sunny but cool morning. In celebration of the date, which is Burns night, Ptolemy generously handed out shortbread and read to us from 'To a Blackbird' by the great man.

'Go on sweet bird, and soothe my care,
Thy tuneful notes will hush despair;
Thy plaintive warblings void of art,
Thrill sweetly thro' my aching heart.
Now chuse thy mate, and fondly love,
And all the charming transport prove;
While I a lovelorn exile live,
Nor transport or receive or give.'

Reporter: Cath Robinson

Thirty of us met up in the village hall on Jan 5th after rather a wet day out birding. There was much less standing water than last year when much of the valley was flooded and wildfowl were hard to find but it was definitely wet. And a bit cold. But not windy.
We weren’t the only team to have coffee in the Pensthorpe café towards the end of the day.
Overall, 11 teams with varying numbers were out and about and I think most people enjoyed the day and the chat and cakes.
Hopefully I can update at the next newsletter when David has crunched the numbers but the team who recorded the most and the winner of the annual trophy was Wensum Losesum: Sacha and Mike with a frankly impressive 77 species. Total overall different number of species seen I think was 86.
No one saw Grey Partridge or Redpoll and no Firecrest this year. Brambling, Yellowhammer and Song Thrush were hard to find. For waders, always tricky on our patch, we managed Lapwing, Golden Plover, Snipe and Woodcock. Great White Egret and Cattle Egret seem to be joining Little Egret as expected birds to find.
And some of us did see a huge flock of Linnets (150+) with a big flock of Chaffinch (40+) alongside. And good numbers of winter thrushes.
Thanks to everyone who took part and especially those who helped setting up and clearing away in the hall.

​Leader: Ptolemy McKinnon
Reporter: Mandy Etherington

As we gathered at Thornham Harbour for a 9 am start, the overall feeling of the group was one of surprise. We had all left home in thick mist which had lingered until just as we approached Thornham when the sky suddenly cleared, and the sun came out. In fact, it was a beautiful morning, and although the sunshine didn't last, it was mild, still and the light was good.

Leader: Sue Gale
Reporter: John Scoggins

Start: Kelling, TG094429
On the autumn equinox, a small group of us met in Kelling to explore the area around Muckleborough Hill on the north Norfolk coast under the autumnal mutterings of Rooks and Jackdaws, flitterings of Goldfinches in the nearby trees, and the toot of the train from the nearby Poppy Line chugging up to Holt. It was a changeable morning; hot in the sun but chilly in the cloud which gathered as we crossed the road and set off down the Meadow Lane track that leads down to The Quag. As we ventured out of the village, initially surrounded on both sides by trees and hedges, with the best blackberries above head height, the first birds of the walk were perhaps unsurprisingly a mix of Robins, Wrens, Starlings and Dunnock alongside Woodpigeon, Stock Dove and Collared Dove.

​Leader: Matt Wickens
Coordinator and Reporter: Sue Gale
There was a good turn-out for the visit to Sweet Briar Marshes NWT, probably because people had been enthused by the talk in August by Matt Wickens, Urban Reserve Manager. He had agreed to take us round the recently acquired reserve to demonstrate what he had been
talking about. Most of us met in the car park on Hellesdon Road and took the very overgrown riverside path to reach Marriott’s Way. Over the bridge and it was only a short walk to the main entrance, where we met up with Matt.